


Visage in the Dark

by amitiel



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Determination, Grief, Longing, Loss, Lovers, M/M, Oneshot, but it can be read as friendship too, emotion, friends - Freeform, heavily implied soriku, i haven't played the dlc yet so don't hate me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28925088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amitiel/pseuds/amitiel
Summary: Riku misses Sora
Relationships: Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Visage in the Dark

Riku stared out at the water, the sunshine glistening off of the clear crystal blue. Destiny Islands. It didn’t feel much like destiny anymore. It was where they started, and where they ended. All except one. That one made the difference to them all, but to Riku most of all.

Sora. Just the thought of his name was enough to create an ache deep within his chest, a desire to rush out to other worlds and hope to find him. There had been so many times that Riku just wandered the shores of the islands, visiting old haunts, pacing the places they had been again and again and again. There had to be just some hint, some notion that Sora was within his grasp. There had to be.

With a heavy sigh, as all sighs from Riku were heavy now, he got up and made his way towards the cave. Sora had told him that was where things had begun. Riku hated that he had been alone then, that Sora was on his own due to his own heart being shrouded by darkness. 

Stepping into the cool cave, Riku’s hair on the back of his neck immediately stood on end. This place was just… different. Sacred. Both divine and dangerous. Riku believed that his prayers were heard here, that Sora would hear him when he called for him to return. He had to believe in something when there was nothing.

Kneeling in front of the right wall, Riku looked at the drawings Sora and Kairi had done, sharing the paopu fruit. An ache spread through his chest, and he pressed his hand against the image of Sora, willing himself to feel his presence.  _ Please Sora. Please. Just give me a sign. I know you’re out there somewhere. _

“Why the long face?” Sora’s voice echoed throughout the cave. Startled, Riku looked to his left then to his right. Sora was standing there, by the entrance, with his hands on the back of his head. There was that same goofy grin he always had on him, and he looked relaxed and jovial. It was just as Riku remembered him.

“Sora?” RIku asked, not daring to move. He barely dared to breathe. This had to be a mirage, a projection of his yearning and need to see him. But right now… he just didn’t care. All Riku wanted was to have Sora in his life again. “Where are you?”

Sora smiled as he walked towards him, his footfalls sure but unassuming. That’s always how he was. Not proud and always kind. Sora was the light in Riku’s darkness, the one voice and name that carried him through and brought him out of the pain and torment within his soul. Sora was his salvation, his friend, his soulmate. The flipside of the same coin, Sora was all he wasn’t and everything he needed.

“Silly,” Sora said as he stopped in front of Riku, still on his knees as he stared at his friend in tearful disbelief. Sora bent at the waist, just mere inches from Riku’s face. Riku swore he could feel Sora’s breath against his lips. “I’ve always been here.”

Riku was about to ask what he meant, but then he felt Sora’s finger against his chest, poking where his heart was. Tears descended down his cheeks, knowing that this was just some work of magic, his desire so strong that he manifested Sora’s visage. The only thing he wanted was to reach out and-

“No matter where you go, I’ll be with you,” Sora said. He cupped Riku’s cheeks and kissed his forehead. “I promise.”

Sora took a step back, and Riku panicked. “Sora, wait! Don’t go!”

He reached forward, nearly falling to the ground as Sora’s image disappeared like a plume of smoke, a wish fulfilled and a heartache prolonged. Letting out a wretched sob, he slammed his fist on the hard ground, the pain radiating up his arm. Riku let out a guttural cry, a scream of pain. He didn’t know what was worse: seeing Sora for a brief moment and having him vanish before his eyes or never seeing him at all.

_ A dream is a wish your heart makes. _ How many times had Riku dreamt about Sora returning to him? Dreams didn’t really come true for Riku the way they did for Sora, the way that Sora persisted to make them happen. Now, though… Now was time for Riku to stand up and act. He had to find Sora, no matter the cost.

Riku stood up, making his way towards the shore, his tears drying as determined agony settled within his heart. Staring out at the water, he felt a breeze blow stronger than before, as if propelling him beyond this world and to the next. There, Riku thought about the pain, the past, and what he had to do to make it to the future. A plan was forming, his heart was sure. Riku would do what it took to get there.

_ I’m coming, Sora. Wait for me. I’m coming. _

**Author's Note:**

> Note: I haven't played the DLC yet so please be kind to me on this if it's not strictly canon compliant. I will get to it eventually, I swear.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it regardless!


End file.
